4 found guilty of drugs, weapons crimes

March 28, 2009

Four alleged gang members were convicted Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago for various drug and firearm charges.

Rondell "Nightfall" Freeman, 33, Brian Wilbourn, 31, Adam Sanders, 24, and Daniel Hill, 23, all former residents of the Cabrini Green housing project, were found guilty in a case dubbed "Operation Sunrise," a joint investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the ATF said Friday in a news release.

The four men were convicted for conspiring to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine, and Freeman was convicted of possessing a firearm.

"The defendants were major suppliers of crack cocaine in the Cabrini Green housing residences under the leadership of Rondell Freeman," the release stated.

Freeman faces a minimum of 25 years in prison and the other three men each face a minimum of 20 years.